The Learning Year
by JolieWrites
Summary: Stef and Lena adopt a new teenager, one that comes with her own set of troubles and secrets. It's up to them, and the help of their other children, to slowly break her out of her shell. This is also my first story on here so please be kind, i'm just starting to put my work out there.
1. Chapter 1

Nicole Adams-Foster wasn't always Nicole-Adams-Foster. For 15 years, she was just Nicole. In and out of foster homes, being abused and mistreated for seven years, until her moms came along. Stef and Lena Adams-Foster, loving parents to a already full house of teenagers. Brandon, the oldest, came from Stef's first marriage to a man, Mike. Then came the twins, Mariana and Jesus. One day at work there they were, sad and alone with nowhere to go. They stole Stef's heart instantly, so, she took them home and Lena too fell in love with the twins and adopted them. And now they had Nicole, she has some underlying issues due to being in foster care for seven years. Their life is hectic, to say the least, with four teenagers and also juggling work and a marriage, things can get pretty crazy and stressful around the Adams-Foster family house.

Nicole groaned as her alarm went off, she really didn't want to get out of bed. With a heavy sigh and a tap of her phone, the alarm was off and her eyes were slowly starting to open. The sun was bright, much too bright for her likings but somehow her sister was always up before her and opened the curtians. "Good morning sunshine!" Mariana said happily as she came from the bathroom, "I dont get how you're so happy and chipper in the morning." Nicole said as she shook her head and sat up in bed, "Me either," she giggled, sitting on her bed. Nicole rubbed her eyes and finally got out of bed, "Here goes another day." She mumbled and gathered up clothes as she headed to the bathroom, only to find Brandon there. She wasn't happy with Brandon at the moment, he was the one who told their mom's she wasn't feeling good and she suffered through a long, painful talk about her feelings and blah blah. "I'll just come back," she mumbled.

Feelings in the Adams-Foster household were very oftenly talked about. With Lena being a vice principle of the kids high school, she almost always knew when something was off with her kids. So when she saw Nicole slumping around, she knew something just wasn't right. "Nicole, come here baby," she said softly, gently pulling the slumping teen into her bedroom. "Mama, i'm fine, i swear. I think i just woke up too early, Mariana is like, an animal that wakes up super early in the morning. My minds drawing a blank," she mumbled, finally sitting on the bed. Of course she was still tired, Mariana never slept in, so Nicole never slept in. But something was just wrong with her and she herself couldn't even put her finger on it. "I know your tired mood and your grumpy mood, baby. What's up?" She pressed a little softer, knowing full well her daughter might explode. "Mama, i really don't know. Now, if you don't mind, i'd love to brush my teeth and plan Brandon's death." She mumbled before finally walking out of her parents room and into the bathroom, thankfully finding it empty so she could have just a second of alone time to think by herself.

"I mean, yeah, i guess so," Jesus mumbled in the middle of being interrogated by his Mom, the cop. "You guess so?" They were in the middle of a talk about Jesus and his grades, which happened to be slipping by the weeks. "Jesus, you're in danger of failing. Do you understand me? That means you will not pass your junior year, you will not be a senior, and you will be a year behind your sisters. Understood?" Jesus nodded his head in shame. He knew he should be paying more attention to school then to skateboarding or Emma, his girlfriend. "Understood," he groaned deeply, scuffing his feet on the floor. Stef nodded, pleased at their talk, now to the real issue, Nicole and her behavior. Latley, the teen had been flying off the handle at random moments, and Stef being the super mom she is, knew her girls menstral cycles and Nicole wasn't on hers. Something else was going on and she was determined to get to the bottom of it, no matter what it took, even questioning her other daughter and even her other son.

Nicole had now locked herself in the bathroom while in the shower, letting the almost scholding hot water wash over her body as she sat in the water. Her head was spinning with thoughts, thoughts of her past and how horrible she had been treated before. She knew her moms would never do anything like that to her, but she just coulnd't help her thoughts. "Nic?" Mariana knocked softly, she hadn't heard from her sister in a few hours, "Go away, and don't tell moms im in here i'm-I'm taking a bath." She knew right away that sounded dumb, the shower was still running. Nicole closed her eyes and waited for the wrath of her Mom or the comfort of her Mama, either way, she didn't want either of them to bother her. Not now, she needed to think about things for a little while. She kept having flash backs of her first foster home and the abuse she went throught, she remembered sitting in the bathtub just crying, praying that someone would come save her. Anything to happen, now, she almost wished someone would come save her from herself, save her from the thoughts running in her head.

"Should you talk to her, or would you rather it be me?" Lena asked as they stood infront of the bathroom door, "Depending on her mood, it should be me. You know she think's you're too soft and i'm too hard, so i'll go in there first and if everything goes wrong, you can swoop in and save the day." Stef smiled before kissing her head and slowly, yet anxiously walking to the bathroom door. "Nicole," She knocked softly, "Baby it's Mom, let me in sweetie. I promise i wont get mad at you." She pressed softly, "Please my sweets, everything will be okay once you open the door." Stef was trying everything to get Nicole to open the door. "Nicole if you don't open it, im going to have to get the key and unlock it myself and you dont want that baby."


	2. Chapter 2: Late

Nicole let out a loud, heavy groan, "You don't have to do that, Mom." She mumbled, slowly wrapping the towel around herself so she could open the door, "See, not dead," She joked, but instantly regretted it, "Bad choice of words, sorry." Nicole said quickly after, seeing the look on Stef's face, "Mom, i love you and all, but i'm like.. naked and i would love to get dressed before we start this lecture i'm sure i'm going to get." Nicole felt awkard, it was her mom after all and all she had on was a towel. "Okay, but don't take forever, yeah? Other people have to use the bathroom." Stef smiled a little softer this time, not wanting to Nicole to get any bad feelings. "Yeah mom, i know." She said softly, closing the door behind Stef after she left. Nicole let out anothe sigh, she didn't want to have this talk.

"Well?" Lena said as she raised an eyebrow seeing Stef walk back into their bedroom so quickly. "She's okay. She's getting dressed and will be in shortly," She sighed, sitting next to her wife on the bed. Nicole wasn't easy, she had only been with them a year, and everyone was still learning how to work around her. "Stef, i'm worried. She's not usually like this, and i know that says a lot because she's only been here a year, but i love her and she's my baby. I don't like this." Lena ran her hands though her hair as Nicole entered the room, clearing her throat. "Come sit, my sweets," Stef patted the spot between the two of them, "I just want to say before anything, that i'm sorry for my behavior latley. I know i've been out of line." She stuttered as she sat bewteen Stef and Lena, "But i don't know what's exactly wrong with me, i don't. One minute i'm fine and the next, something just hits me and i cant get out of this slump." Lena and Stef shared a look, before they wrapper her up in a hug, "It's okay, my love. You're going to be okay." Lena said softly into her ear, Nicole may be difficult, but what child wasn't?

Everyone sat around the dinner table, sharing stories and bickering like the usual siblings. "Stop looking at me," Mariana mumbled to Jesus, her older brother, "I'm not looking at you," He pried, knowing exactly how to annoy his younger sister. "Jesus, serioulsy stop!" She yelled a little louder, causing heads to look toward them, "What? He wouldn't stop looking at me!" Mariana said quickly, defending herself. "Jesus, why do you always feel the need to annoy your sister?" Stef said as she shook her head, "Because it's fun," He smiled, kissing his sister on the cheek, "Relax, Mariana, i was just messing with you." Mariana just rolled her eyes, "If you were a girl, my life would be so much easier," Mariana groaned, "If he was a girl, you probably would have killed him years ago." Everyone laughed at that, after their talk, which lasted much longer then she would have liked, Nicole was starting to feel like herself again, sarcastic and goofy. "She's got a point, when they were eight she held his head under the water at the beach and nearly downed him for talking her bucket," Brandon laughted, giving his little sister a wink, "Well if he didn't take my bucket that wouldn't have happened." Mariana laughed. Stef and Lena shared a look, one that gave eachother reassurance, their children all seemed happy.

"Hey, Mari?" Nicole said in the darkness of their bedroom. Everyone had fallen asleep hours ago, but Nicole was still wide awake, she always had a hard time sleeping when her mind was racing. "Yeah?" Mariana said softly, lifting her head up so she could look at her sister from across the room, "What was it like when mom's first adoped you and Jesus?" She asked, scooting futher up her bed so she could talk to her sister better. "Well, it was scary obvioulsy, i mean, we were always scared they were going to give us up." Mariana said honestly, "But i guess over the years, it got easier and we realized that they were going to keep us. Nikki, if you're that worried about mom's not keeping you, go talk to them. If you don't, it'll only make things worse for you. You're going to overthink it way too much, trust me, it'll eat you up inside. It happened to me." Nicole just nodded, she liked talking to her sister, she had really good advice sometimes. "Thanks, Mariana. That makes me feel a lot better," She smiled. The room went quiet and Nicole soon slowly feel back asleep, letting their conversation seep into her head. Mariana was right, she needed to talk to her moms.

"If everyone isn't ready in the next five minutes you're walking to school!" Stef yelled up the stairs, they were already late to school, any later and they would have to explain to Lena as to why. "It's Mariana and her hair," Jesus said as he ran down the stairs, "Nicole too, they're up there killing eachother over the blowdryer." Stef shook her head, "Go out to the car, and dont run in the house!" Stef called after him as she walked upstairs to the bathroom, "Come on my love's, we don't have enough time for this and i'm not going to be the one telling Mama why we're so late for school." Mariana rolled her eyes, "Mom, relax it'll be fine! Mama doesn't care if were late or not," She finished curling her hair and did a quick check, "Okay, i'm ready, i'll be in the car," She smiled, kissing her cheek before skipping down the stairs. "In my defence, she takes a lifetime to do her makeup," Nicole was just finishing her own hair and double checking her makeup before following down after her sister. "You love them, you can't kill them. You love them, don't kill them." Stef repeated to herself.


	3. Chapter 3 - Uh Oh

"Your hair looks awful," Lexi, Mariana's best friend commented as she slid her arm into her best friends, "Yeah, well I didn't have any time to finish doing it because there's never any room in the bathroom." Mariana said with a small giggle, leading them into the school building, "Anyways, did you take the notes for English? I zoned out mid-way," Lexi laughed, "Of course you did, when don't you?" They made their way into their first period, just seconds before the bell rang, "When they're isn't a cute boy," Mariana winked as she slid into her seat, Lexi sliding in next to her, "At least you're not failing." That might have been an understatement, because as a test fell onto her desk, Mariana's heart all but sank, another D, her mama was sure to kill her. "Yeah, right. Look, Mama's going to kill me and I just promised her that I would keep my grades up, Lex, what am I supposed to do?" She whined as she set her head down on the school desk, she had to find a way out of this. If her Mama knew she wasn't doing good in classes, she would be grounded from everything, including weekly sleepovers with Lexi.

On the other side of the school building, Nicole was aimlessly doodling in her notebook, not exactly paying attention to her class either. "Nicole!" She heard from behind her, Hazel, her best friend, desperately trying to get her attention, "Sweet Jesus, Hazel, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She mumbled, finally trying around. "No, but you zoned out again and missed all the notes, class is over in like five minutes," Nicole sighed softly, "Alright, after this class you're coming with me to the bathroom so I can finally pee, and then I'll take the notes really quick and hopefully we'll make it to History in time." Nicole and Hazel had really bonded in her first few weeks at Anchor Beach, they had similar back stories, only Hazel was adopted when she was four. "Okay, fine. But you have got to start paying attention." The bell rang and the two quickly made their way into the bathroom, "I do pay attention, I just hate chemistry," Nicole mumbled, "Yeah, well I hate it too but still take the notes." Nicole secretly rolled her eyes, "It's all just a bunch of hoopla," Nicole washed her hands and quickly found a spot to sit so she could hurry and takes the notes before they ran to their next class together.

Mariana and Lexi shortly found themselves in their last class of the day, sitting side by side taking notes and occasionally finding the time to laugh at each other. "Something funny, ladies?" Mr. Harrison, their math teacher said as he cleared his throat, "Uh, no?" Lexi said in her sassy attitude, causing Mariana to giggle. "Sorry, sir," Lexi said quickly, realizing the look she was being given, "Nothing is funny, Mr. Harrison, just had something in my throat," It was a pretty terrible lie. Mariana knew Lexi was digging herself into a pretty deep hole and had to step in, "Mr. Harrison, if I may, Lexi here has been feeling very ill in the last couple of hours. Sometimes when she gets this ill, it causes random laughs and uncontrollable word vomit." Mr. Harrison wasn't impressed, "Office, the two of you, now." He said, and Mariana's heart sank, she was in for it with her Mama now. Slowly, they both got up and slumped into the hallway, "Well, if I'm dead, my mom killed me, and if I'm grounded, Mama grounded me, either way, it was nice knowing you." She half laughed, "Don't worry, just let a few tears fall and you'll be fine, your Mama is a sucker for tears," Lexi laughed, "That she is my friend, that she is."

"Mariana Adams-Foster," Lena said firmly as the young girl as in a chair in her office, "What makes you think it's even remotely okay to talk to a teacher that way?" Mariana hung her head, "Mama, I know it sounds bad, but it's really not! Lexi was in trouble and as her best friend I had to help her! What was I supposed to do? Let her get into trouble?" Okay, so maybe she had a few tears falling, but it should soften Lena up. Lena sighed heavily, "Okay, miss thing. This is how I see it, you and Lexi were acting like fools, Lexi got into trouble, you took the blame and ended up down here because you knew if you cried and pouted you could win me over, yeah?" Mariana looked down quickly, "Thought so. Now, one of two things can happen. One, you can get Lexi in here so she can take a punishment or you can take it for her and be grounded for a week." Lena hated making her kids choose between friends and school but her job required it sometimes. Mariana had to think, really think about it, she couldn't let Lexi get in trouble, she was her best friend and she would probably hate her. "I'll just take the grounding and get it over with, I don't want Lexi to get in trouble," She finally said, earning a head nod from Lena. "Okay, a week's grounding it is. Back to class miss thing, don't be late for dinner." And with that, Mariana was out of the office and back into the hallway to tell Lexi what happened.

"How do I always find myself in this situation with you?" Nicole mumbled as she crept out the front doors of Anchor Beach, "Because you love me, and it's fun so shush," She giggled as they made it out the doors and through the fence. Nicole usually wasn't one to skip a class, mainly because Lena always found out about it and she was always in trouble afterwards, "Okay, yes it's fun but is it really necessary to do it every other Friday? My Mama's going to find out the pattern eventually." She huffed, "Eventually, not today. Relax, Nic, we'll be fine. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" Hazel was the trouble maker of the two, sure Nicole spaced out a lot more during class and often forgot something important, but Hazel always made trouble, and somehow Nicole was always involved, "You know when you say that, something bad usually happens and I have to save your ass or my own for that matter." She rolled her eyes, sometimes she did feel like a mom to Hazel, "And this time I won't save it because this wasn't my idea and I yet always take the blame." Nicole wasn't wrong, she did always take the blame, but sometimes she was at fault, "Would you just shut up?" Hazel giggled as she rolled her eyes, "Now, stay here while I do this, and keep a look out." Nicole huffed, nodding to Hazel as she stood near the car and kept a close eye out, "Hurry Haze," She mumbled, standing on her tippy toes to see around the corner, "Going as fast as I can here Nic," Hazel said softly, finally opening the car door. "Uh, Hazel, get out of there, now, now," Nicole said frantically, "Why?" She said as she looked up, her heart stopping in her chest, "That's why," Nicole whined as a police officer handcuffed her, "Now look what you did."


	4. Chapter 4 - Learning Lessons

Stef was responding to call about two teenagers breaking into a car, typical teenagers breaking into trouble. However, when she pulled up and saw Nicole and her friend Hazel in handcuffs, she could already feel her anger boiling. "Nicole Adams-Foster what in the world," She began, approaching the girls, "What are you thinking? Breaking into a car? Like I wouldn't find out about it." At this point, Nicole already had her head down with giant tears rolling down her cheeks, no matter what, she couldn't cry her way out of it. It wasn't even her fault, she was just standing watch, it wasn't like she was the one breaking the car door and getting inside, still, Stef wouldn't have any mercy on her. "I'm sorry," She sniffled, managing to glare over at Hazel, already telling the officer she was with what they were doing. "I'm sure you are, young lady." Stef sighed, getting some information from another officer that arrested them. "You better thank your lucky stars, Nicole. Hazel took full responsibility for breaking into the car, said all you did was stand away from it. However, with that, you're coming home with me and you will be grounded for a _very_ long time, understood?" Nicole nodded, she would write Hazel a letter thanking her for taking the fall, and reminding her that she was the best friend ever.

Everyone was sitting at the dinner table, Mariana and Jesus were arguing about STEAM, Brandon was reading some book about pianos, and Nicole was just playing with her food. Since being almost arrested earlier, she was grounded from everything. She could only watch TV with the family or a sibling, she was _not_ allowed to have any contact with Hazel whatsoever, and the worst part was, she couldn't have her phone, laptop or anything electronic device for an entire month. Lena and Stef shared a look over at Nicole, knowing how heartbroken and upset she must be, not with them, but with herself. "Mama! Please tell tweedled-dumb here that he _has_ to attend every meeting for STEAM!" Mariana whined, breaking the two out of their trance, "Mariana, that wasn't very kind. And yes, Jesus, you have to attend every meeting until the year is over." Lena explained, causing Jesus to groan, "I have other things to worry about, Mama! Like wrestling and skateboarding, I have to have a real life!" Mariana rolled her eyes, "I do have a real life, you pea brain." Nicole couldn't help but laugh, "Sorry," She said quickly. Mariana just smiled over at her sister, "Thank you. Anyways, we have three meeting this week alone and so far, ours is the best," She boasted proudly, "Very good, sweets, Mama and I are very proud of you, both of you." Stef smiled, kissing each of their foreheads before clearing off their plates.

"What do you think we should do about Nicole?" Lena sighed softly, rubbing lotion on her legs, "I honestly have no clue, my love. Is there anything we really can do? They're teenagers, they're going to make their own mistakes and learn the consequences. Hazel took the fall, which saved Nicole's ass from being arrested, again. But still, she was punished and even though we can't pick her friends for her, I'm sure she's realized that Hazel isn't exactly a prime example." Lena just sighed, putting her head in her hands, "I'm just worried, she's having the hardest time in school, Mariana too, she's failing at least two classes and Nicole just zones out." Stef looked over at Lena and raised her eyebrows, "Failing? Two classes?" This was news to her, "We can't let any of these kids think they can walk all over you at school just because you're their mom! She should be in tutoring or something if she's failing two classes." Stef didn't like the fact that the kids often thought they could get away with things just because Lena was their mom and Vice Principle, "She doesn't need a tutor, she and Lexi need to switch class hours, they can't be in the same class together, Lexi seems to pass just fine, it's Mariana." Lena kept close track on all her kids' school work, it was important to her and Stef that their kids succeeded in school. "And Jesus? He's doing the best he can?" Stef only really worried about Jesus, he struggled the most and needed a tutor for certain subjects, "He's doing very well, I think this new tutor we have for him is really working, they seem to get along well and are even seeming to form a friendship." They decided to change Jesus's tutor after finding out that he had a crush on her, now they had a boy from school, Austin, who was a 4.0 student. "That's good to hear, really good," She smiled, joining her wife in bed, "Tomorrow's a new day, my love."

Jesus was running late, so late he forgot to brush his teeth and put on matching shoes. Somehow, he managed to oversleep, no one woke him up, and now he was hours late for school and his tutoring session, he already texted Austin letting him know what happened, but he wasn't worried too much about that, it was his Mama he would have to face. "Uh, Mama?" he said softly, knocking on her office door, "Just a minute, have a seat," She was in a meeting with another student discussing college options. Once they left, Jesus slowly walked into the office, closing the door behind him, "No one woke me up! And I didn't hear any alarms go off and when I finally did wake up, I realized how late I was and literally ran all the way here." He said quickly, "Jesus, do you know why no one woke you up?" Lena asked, watching Jesus shake his head, "Because you were up until god knows when playing Xbox and on your computer. Jesus, my sweet, handsome boy, you can't keep doing this, one day you won't be able to rely on your sisters or Mama and I to wake you up." Jesus just nodded, letting the words sink in, "Yes, Mama, I understand. I won't stay up late again and try to set my own alarm from now on." Lena smiled, Jesus was growing up to be a fine young man, "That's my boy, now go meet Austin in the tutoring room and start on your assignment's, okay?" She smiled, watching Jesus walk down the hallway toward the tutoring room. "That's my boy."


	5. Chapter 5 - Feelings

_Hey guys, so I've gotten a lot of questions asking if Callie and Jude are in this, and with this answer I might lose a couple of followers. But however, they are not. I wanted to make my own twist on the fosters but keeping the main characters. I hope I don't lose any followers because of this, just answering the most common question. Now onto the next chapter!_

Lena was already having a stressful day, between Jesus showing up late, and over a dozen students stopping into her office before noon to discuss their college options, she felt like she was drowning in her work. It was around her lunchtime when she finally got a break from the reality of her work, Stef came to have lunch with her, something they did once or twice a week. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you," Lena smiled, kissing her wife, "Rough day already?" Stef asked with a small frown, "Between our kids and the rest of the student body, yes, very rough," She joked with a giggle. Most days weren't bad, the kids were well behaved, for the most part, and the rest of the student body seemed to be doing perfectly. However, something just wasn't right with any of the kids, "How have the kids been doing today?" Stef asked, swallowing half an orange slice, "As far as I know, well behaved. I haven't seen any of them except Jesus, so that's a start." Stef was proud to hear none of their kids have been sent down to see her, yet, it was only lunch and they still had two hours of school left, "Well, regardless, I think this new parenting style is working pretty well if I do say so myself." She might have been a little too confident, but the new techniques she learned from work seemed to be doing the trick and setting most of her kids in line, for the most part.

"I'm not even supposed to make eye contact with you, you realize this, don't you?" Nicole mumbled as she and Hazel sat in the hallway between class, she wasn't exactly following all her moms' rules. "Would you relax? Nothing bad is going to happen. It's not like your mom is going to come out into this exact hallway and catch us together. Besides, were best friends, they can't really keep us apart," Nicole just rolled her eyes, "Sometimes, I really do think you're brain dead," She giggled, earning a slap on the arm from her best friend. "We really should get to class, there's a test coming up and if I fail it, my moms' will have my head on a silver platter," Hazel laughed and rolled her eyes, "So dramatic, come on, let's go have a little fun," Hazel said as she stood up, reaching her hand out for Nicole, "Haze, I can't. My mom will find out and I'll be grounded even more!" Nicole was so determined to resist the hazel orbs in her best friends' eyes, pulling her in and making her heart skip a beat. "Oh my- fine! You win," She groaned, taking her best friends hand and watching her face light up, "But Hazel I swear to whatever god there is, if you get the cops called on us, I will poke your eyes out," But all Hazel could do was laugh as she pulled her best friend out of the school building, "You trust me, don't you?"

Jesus and Austin were in fully study mode, every subject from Math to History, everything Jesus needed to pass his exams in the fall. If he didn't have Austin, he was sure he wouldn't be doing so good in school, all his other tutors had been girls, and much too distracting for him. "I'm actually really glad my moms' asked you to be my tutor," He admitted after finishing a math problem, "Yeah man, me too, you're a really cool guy," Austin was often soft spoken and kept to himself, but since they've gotten closer as friends, Jesus learned that they had almost similar backgrounds. "Thanks," He smiled, letting the conversation die as he got back to his work, Jesus of course had a lot of friends, he was friendly and obviously good looking, but sometimes he felt that his friends were just using him to get to Mariana. But not Austin, he liked Jesus for who he was, the kid with ADD who also happens to be a awesome skateboarder. Now all he had to do was pass his exams and try to survive the rest of the year without getting into trouble.

"I swear, it's like I zone out every day in that dumb class," Mariana complained as she and Lexi walked out of their History class, "Or you could be too busy doodling 'I love Matt' across every page in your notebook," Lexi snickered, "I hate you, I really do," Mariana groaned as she rolled her eyes. She had a huge crush on Matt ever since they had a party when their moms were away on a little getaway trip, "He's one of Brandon's friends and band members, it'll just be weird if we dated." She shook her head, "Uh huh, whatever you say," Lexi teased as they walked past Lena's office, "Hey, wait here for just a second, I have to talk to my Mama," Mariana detached herself from Lexi and slowly walked into Lena's office. "Uh, Mama?" She spoke softly, stepping inside her office, "Yes, my love?" Lena smiled, seeing some hesitation in Marianas eyes, "Can I- do you have a minute?" Lena nodded and sat on the loveseat she had in her office, patting the spot for Mariana go come sit. "I'm sorry to bother you and I know this can probably wait until we get home but I'm just having a really hard time paying attention in some classes, I think it's Matt, plus the lessons are really boring and having Lexi right next to me isn't the best situation but that's not the point." She shook her head, distracting herself, "Anyways, I think you should either move Matt to a new class or move Lexi and I because I need to pass these exams," Lena couldn't help but smile at her daughter, "I'll see what I can do, love, okay? Now go to class before you're late," She kissed her daughters head and sent her on her way, she couldn't change Matt's class for no reason, but this would be the perfect opportunity to split up Mariana and Lexi. Lexi was also doing great in the currently class, Mariana for whatever reason just couldn't get her act together with Lexi in the same classes as her.

Nicole and Hazel had skipped the rest of the day and went to a park just a few blocks away, they sat under a tree in the shade, laying in the grass and looking up at the sky. However, Nicole's mind was clouded with thoughts of Hazel, not best friend ones either. They had always been close, since her first day at Anchor Beach and they bonded right off the bat, Nicole always felt that little something special for Hazel, but of course she pushed it back and blocked it away. Nicole knew it was okay to like girls, hell, she had two moms so obviously, they would accept it, but not for Hazel, her moms already didn't' like Hazel because of all the trouble they get into together, but Nicole couldn't help these feelings. "Nic?" Hazel said in the middle of their silence, "Yeah?" She replied, turning her head to look at Hazel, "I'm really glad you're my best friend," Nicole smiled, feeling her heart swell in her chest, "Yeah Haze, me too."


	6. Chapter 6 - Hot Water

It wasn't unit midnight that Nicole finally stumbled into the house. She turned her phone off to avoid her mom's and siblings, just wanting to escape for a few hours, but a few hours turned into more than that. It turned into two at the park, four at their secret spot and just a few more exploring town late at night and going places they shouldn't have been, regardless, she knew she would be in deep trouble, but at that moment, she didn't really care. "Nicole Lynn Adams-Foster," Stef's stern tone broke her stealth, "Where in the world have you been young lady," Nicole let out a breath and let her shoulders fall, "Out with Hazel," She mumbled. Stef could feel something bubbling deep In her chest and it took everything in her power not to be a cop and explode on her daughter, "With Hazel? Nicole, you are grounded from Hazel." Stef tried to say as calmly as possible, "Yeah well, you can't force me to not hang out with my best friend, Mom, it's not fair," Nicole shot back, for not being any of theirs biologically, she sure had Stef's fire, "We set rules for a reason, Nicole, and those are to be followed. No Hazel, No soccer. Home and school, that's it, that's a part of your punishment," Stef could see the fire burning behind her daughter's eyes, one she's only seen a few times before. Nicole never got angry, a little upset and frustrated, but never angry to the point she was violent. "Yeah well your rules are stupid! She's my best friend! I- I need to see her!" Before Stef could respond, Nicole was already storming up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door shut, waking up both her sister and Mama, her brothers could sleep though anything, even a teenage girl meltdown.

Lena was woken suddenly by the slamming of a bedroom door and already knew what happened. Nicole came home, she and Stef had a talk, Nicole got angry and stormed off. With a heavy sigh, she sat up in bed as Stef returned, "I take it things didn't go well?" She asked, watching her wife undress and slip into bed, "Not at all. She was with Hazel, and when I tried to explain the rules of her punishment, she called them stupid and stormed up here," Stef explained, sinking into the sheets, "Something's going on with her. She's adamant about seeing Hazel no matter what, I don't know if it's for the adventure or what." Lena looked at Stef with raised eyebrows, "Honey," She giggled softly, "She has a crush on her, that's why she's spending so much time with her, skipping classes to be with her. I've seen it before." Stef sat up in bed, looking confused at her wife, "Are you sure?" Stef didn't believe it, there was so way Nicole could possibly have a crush on Hazel, "Honey, all the signs are there. She's spending all her free time, and class time, with her. She will do anything to be with her, even if it means cutting class and staying out way past curfew. I don't think Nicole knows the extent of her own feelings, but I think she knows that what she feels, isn't what a best friend should feel."

"What in the god's good name," Mariana groaned as she sat up in bed, "Do you want to know something? I'll tell you. Mom is so uptight and doesn't understand that we are teenagers and need a life! We don't have to follow every exact rule she has!" Nicole was already mind meltdown as she began to change into pajama's," Mariana just looked at her sister with raised eyebrows, letting her rant all she wanted, "So what, so what me and Hazel stayed out all night. So what I stayed out way past curfew, big freaking deal." Nicole finally grunted as she flew herself on her bed, "I'm going to be grounded for the rest of my life, there's no denying that. Or Mama will watch me like a freaking hawk at school just to make sure Hazel and I stay far away from each other, sucks for them, we have every class together." Mariana could just stare at her sister in the dim moonlight seeping through their curtains into the bedroom, she didn't know if she should say something or not. "If you want my advice, I'd keep your trap shut for a few days, maybe use the silent treatment, but whatever you do, obey the rules and maybe she won't kill you before you're eighteen," Was all she said, laying back in bed and doing everything in her power to fall back asleep. Nicole just laid there, staring up at the fan. Everything happened so fast it was almost a blur in her own mind, all she could remember was coming home and having a fight with Stef, the rest is a big blur, she didn't remember what she said she was so angry. "I made a huge mistake," She whined, turning to bury her head in the pile of pillows in her bed.

At breakfast that morning, everyone could feel the tension in the air between Nicole and Stef. Nicole would occasionally glare at Stef out of the corner of her eye, or completely ignore her questions, Nicole was very stubborn, there was no doubt about it, maybe even more stubborn then Mariana. Regardless, her stubbornness and Stef's equal stubbornness could cause a hell storm, "STEAM is going good, the robot is coming along good if I do say so myself," Mariana smiled, trying her best to break the air, "That's very nice, love, Mama and I can't wait to see you in competition," Stef smiled back, giving her a soft wink. "If everyone else on the team had your confidence in us, we'd probably be getting done a lot faster," She sighed, glaring toward her brother, "It's not my fault! I have wrestling practice three times a week!" Jesus said, defending himself, giving Mariana a playful nudge, "Yeah, well steam is important to me, so as my twin, it should be important to you too," She giggled, sticking her tongue out at Jesus. "Well, I'm off to school, I have a test to study for," Nicole said quickly, taking the last bite of her toast and dashing out the front door. It might have been a little white lie, she really was going to school, but with Hazel and didn't plan on staying all day, "Thank god you came when you did, I had to listen to Mariana and Jesus talk about STEAM, I wanted to stab my eyes out." Hazel just laughed, "Dramatic much?" Nicole just glared at her, "Do you want me to hang out with you or not?" Nicole laughed, "Alright, alright fine," Hazel winked and pulled out of the driveway.

"Mom is two seconds away from grounding you until you're thirty," Mariana slid next to her sister in the hallway, "Mariana, I know, okay? But look, she can't control us forever, I'm almost two years away from being eighteen and after that, she can't tell me what to do anymore." Nicole sighed as they turned a corner, only to see Stef and Lena talking, "And we go this way," Mariana spun around, pulling her sister with her, "Look, I don't know what's with you lately, but I hope you realize Mom is a cop and can like, put a restraining order out on Hazel or something. I support whatever teenage meltdown you're having, god knows I've had my fair share, but just, be careful. Moms protective over us all and you know that as well as I do," But before Nicole could say anything else, Mariana had already attached herself to Lexi and Hazel suddenly wrapped her arms around Nicole, "Jesus, Haze, don't sneak up on me like that!" Nicole jumped, slapping her in the arm, "What's with you? Acting all paranoid," Hazel mumbled, "My moms are here and I bet you anything they're on the man hunt for us," Nicole explained, pulling her down the hallway. "Last night was really bad I can't remember anything that happened, all I can remember is getting home and fighting with my mom, I don't remember much of that either, and storming up to bed. That's when I texted you." Hazel just furrowed her eyebrows, "Have you lost all your goddamn marbles? You can't just explode on your moms!" Hazel always made sure Nicole kept her cool, or tried to help, "I know! I know, okay? Mariana just lectured me about my impending death. All I know is I'm in some deep waters with them and one wrong move and everything could come tumbling down before we know it, and I know we both want to avoid it," Hazel nodded, "Yeah, I know, I agree. Low profile, which means no more skipping school and secret sneak outs," Hazel smiled hopefully, "You are _so_ lucky you're my best friend."


	7. Chapter 7 - The Truth

_Just a little side note that the next few chapters will strictly focus on Nicole and her journey with Hazel. After that I'll space it out between all the kids and the moms, I'm going to try and put Jesus in more frequently than just once or twice in a chapter. Anyways, thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews! They mean the absolute world to me!_

Nicole was yet again dragged into something she knew she really shouldn't be doing, but regardless here she was, getting into more trouble. She couldn't say no to those hazel eyes and bright smile, Hazel really was one of a kind. Nicole was feeling feelings she never knew she had, of course she loved her moms and siblings, but this kind of love, it was something different. "Hazel, this is a _really_ bad idea," Nicole whined, "Would you relax? Nothing bad is going to happen! We just- hide out here for a little while, maybe have a little fun and return to school! It'll be like we never left," Hazel smiled, Nicole couldn't say no, she knew she should've, but with that smile, it was all but impossible. So, she gave in and let Hazel have her way yet again, but in the back of her mind, she knew this could end in a good or a bad way, and for her sake, she prayed it was in a good way. "Do you know how much trouble we can get it for hiding in here and getting high? I mean, Haze, this is dumb," Nicole tried to reason, watching Hazel smile softly, "You worry way too much, Nic, relax and take another hit. It'll be fine and you'll be fine, nothing to worry about when you're with me. Remember, I've got you." Those words sunk right into her heart, Hazel had her, she was hers even if she knew it or not, Nicole was infatuated with her. She had so many questions running through her head and really in her heart, was loving Hazel, right? Did she fell the same way? Could they ever be together? Her moms' already couldn't stand her because of all the trouble they always got into together and the rest of the school already thought she was a freak or something. There was no harm in trying to drop hints, right? Hazel wouldn't figure it out, she was so high to remember anything. "So, what about that girl in our History class, think she's sort of cute?" Nicole hinted, "Yeah, she's not bad to look at, but there's totally more girl in school that are ten times better looking than her," Hazel smiled with a soft giggle, all but staring at Nicole. Okay, so maybe Hazel did think about girls that way, but Nicole could be thinking way ahead, she just said the girl was cute, there were a lot of cute girls at Anchor Beach.

"I'm sorry!" Nicole was knee deep in an argument with Stef after coming home later than usual, "Sorry is not going to cut it, young lady! You were told the rules of your punishment and continue to disobey them! What's gotten into you?" Stef pushed a little further, testing her wife's theory. "N-nothing! I'm just a teenager," She could feel the tears pooling in her eyes already, "You're not a bad kid, my love, I know you're not," Stef was softer now, seeing the tears in her daughters' eyes, "Yes I am. I'm sneaking out of the house, lying, doing… other things I'm not supposed to be doing. I'm an awful daughter." Before Nicole started to let her tears fall, Stef had her wrapped in her arms and was gently rocking her, "Baby, I know you're scared still and that's okay, but your Mama and I, we love you so, so much and never want anything bad to happen to you," Nicole just nodded, "I know Mom, I do. It's just, really complicated," She sniffled, rubbing her nose against her sleeve. Stef held Nicole there on the living room floor, lost in her own thoughts and world. She loved all her kids and wanted them to feel safe and loved always, she knew sometimes she was cop mom and not just mom. Nothing else mattered right now, however, Nicole needed her to be just mom. "Hey, my love, look at me," She said softly as she tiled Nicole's head up so their eyes could meet, "I know growing up is very, very scary, I was young once too you know," She smiled, "And I remember keeping secrets from my mom and doing all the things you're doing. Nicole, if you ever have a problem, any problem at all, or anything is on your mind, I want you to come talk to me or even Mama, she's always here for you too." Nicole took a deep breath, because she knew that they knew and her time was running short, "Mommy, I know you know," Nicole sighed, not even realizing what she had said, "I don't know anything," Stef played it off, hiding her smile. "Yes, you do."

Stef just looked at Nicole, keeping her face soft and calm. "I know you're not the biggest fan of Hazel, you or mama for that matter, but mom, there's just something about her. It's-When I'm with her, my heart is beating so fast and my palms get all sweaty." Stef nodded, letting Nicole continue, "And-We just have a lot of fun together, she makes me laugh and smile, even when I'm having a good day she makes the day ten times better. I-I think I like her more than just a friend, Mom." Nicole was starting to find it very hard to breath and she knew what was happening to her, "Mom, I-I think I'm going to have a panic attack," She could feel herself sweating and the room was starting to spin. Thankfully Stef knew her daughter and they went through this when Nicole first came to live with them, she knew exactly what to do, "Okay baby, I need you to try and take deep breaths and keep your eyes closed for me okay?" She said calmly as she used her free hand to text Lena, asking her to come run a warm bath before coming downstairs. "Mommy," Nicole whined, as she curled into a ball on Stef's lap, "I know baby, I know. Keep breathing and keep your eyes closed for me, alright? Mama is getting your bath ready and after that you can go to bed," Nicole nodded and kept her eyes closed as she kept breathing. As soon as Lena made it downstairs, she helped Stef carry Nicole up to the bathroom and got her into the tub fully clothed wasting no time in helping their daughter come down from what must have been the most emotional experience of her life.

Nicole's panic attack passed while she was in the bath, and once Stef and Lena knew she would be alright, they left their daughter to undress and relax. However, they couldn't relax knowing Nicole was having panic attacks again. "I'm so worried about her," Lena sighed, running a hand through her hair, "I know, me too. But we need to be strong for her and let her know everything is going to be alright. I'll call doctor Miller tomorrow and set up another appointment," Stef explained, slipping into bed beside her wife. Lena just wanted to think about everything that's been going on with the family and what everyone really needs. After her bath, Nicole got dressed and quickly texted Hazel and canceled their plans tonight, saying she would explain later. With a deep breath, she softly knocked on Stef and Lena's bedroom door, "Come in, love," Stef called out, already making room in bed for Nicole. Without saying a word Nicole got into bed with her moms and cuddled between the two, safe, happy and content with everything that happened. "I love you guys," She said softly, letting her eyes slowly flutter, "We love you too, sweet girl," They each kissed her head and sank further into their blankets, each wrapping their arms around Nicole and finally falling asleep.


	8. Chapter 8 - Sleepover

Morning came and Nicole was feeling the after effect of the night before, the screaming, the yelling and the crying, it was all coming back to her, and it was coming all at once. She finally got the courage to tell her mom's about Hazel, but she couldn't find it in herself to tell Hazel that she was hopelessly in love with her. Her inner fears were the obvious, what if Hazel didn't feel the same way? Or worse, what if she did and they had an actual connection? It couldn't be true, Hazel was her best friend, and that's all. She couldn't be in love with her, but she was, madly in love with her and it was both confusing and frustrating. Often the thought would pop into her mind, the idea of her and Hazel doing couple things, like normal couple things. Going out to the movies and dinner, going paintballing or roller-skating. It wouldn't be that easy, could it? Nicole shook all the ideas out of her head and came back to reality, realizing someone was calling her name and all her siblings were starting at her, "What?" She finally said, snapping out of her trance, "Uh, we've been calling your name for like fifteen minutes," Jesus chuckled, earning a hard glare from Nicole, "Sorry, my brain actually thinks of logical things," Mariana couldn't help but snicker, "Okay, enough." Lena sighed, biting back a smile of her own, that was the Nicole she knew and loved, "You're all going to be late for school if you don't move those tail feathers," Stef said as she clapped her hands, getting all the kids to hurry up and clear their plates, Nicole just wanted to curl into a ball and hide, going to school was not something she wanted to do, she didn't want to face reality of seeing Hazel and pretending to be okay.

"No, Haze, I told you, I cannot skip class anymore, I don't want my mom's to kill me," Nicole giggled as they slid into their class, "They have sucked all the fun out of you," Hazel pouted and Nicole forced back a heartwarming smile, and it was a lot harder then it looked. "If that's what you want to call it," Nicole laughed, pulling out her textbook and notebook, glancing back at Hazel for just a second, giving her a soft smile. "Nicole!" Hazel yelled, finally snapping a pencil against her best friend's neck, "Ouch!" She hissed, whipping around in her seat to glare at Hazel, "Sorry! Class is over in five minutes and you've been in outer space most of it," Nicole cursed to herself in her head and glanced over at her notebook to see the reason she dozed off again, the countless doodles of her and Hazel, "Sorry, just try to keep me in this planet okay? I don't care if you stab me with the pencil, just keep me from dozing off," Hazel nodded and Nicole turned back around, feeling the light poking on her back from Hazel. Thankfully the bell rang and class was over, only two more hours and they were free for the weekend, but Nicole was never free from the thoughts of Hazel, she was always there, no matter what and for Nicole it was a huge problem because it got in the way of basic daily functions like school work.

Nicole needed to talk to her Mama, everything was on her mind after that one class and she couldn't think straight, she nearly walked into six different people because all she could focus on was Hazel. "Mama, I think I'm broken," She sputtered, barging into Lena's office, kicking the door closed behind her, "You're not broken, sit." Lena smiled, "What's going on, love?" She asked, watching Nicole set her things down and plopping into the chair, "Hazel. Everything about that girl has my mind in about a thousand different places. I totally missed every single word the teacher said in Chemistry because all I was doing was doodling about her. And I totally went to mars in History because all I could do was stare at her from the corner of my eye at those adorable freckles. Oh, and on the way here I almost plowed into six different people because all I could think about was her. It's bad, Mama, I can't think like a normal person anymore. She broke me." After Nicole was done with her rant, all Lena could do was giggle, Nicole was so desperately in love. "Baby, you need to tell Hazel how you feel, I know it's going to be scary, but for you to think logically again, you have to tell her how you feel." Nicole was afraid she would say that, "But it could totally ruin our friendship, or we could date, break up and she would never talk to me again. Why does being a teenager have to be so hard?" She whined, throwing her head back with her eyes closed, "Because, my love, that's just the way things are, but believe me when I tell you this, things do get better over time."

By the end of the day Nicole had asked Hazel over for the weekend, and Hazel was more than thrilled to say yes, but Nicole had other plans than just popcorn and a few movies, she would confess her feelings finally and pray for the best but was prepared for the worst. "My moms said it was cool if we slept in the living room, they already know all three of us can't sleep in the same room because Mariana snores like no other and I kick in my sleep," Nicole giggled as they started the walk to her house, "It's okay, my brother snores too and you can totally hear it through the walls," Hazel laughed, forcing Nicole to smile like an idiot. "I am totally glad we're going this, I needed a weekend away from my parents and we haven't really spent much alone time together," Nicole sighed, "I know and I'm sorry for that, I was just grounded for a long time and then my moms, well, you know." She shrugged, Hazel knew how her mom's felt about her, and it almost hurt her feelings, "But hey, they're coming around to you! Since we don't cut class anymore and you're not sneaking though our bathroom window," Nicole laughed, trying to make light of the sudden change of conversation, "Yeah, let's not forget that time I fell down the ladder trying to get into you bedroom window and you mom found me with a giant hole in my pants," Hazel laughed, "Okay, you have to admit that was pretty damn hilarious, my mom saw your hoe underwear," Nicole teased, gently pushing her, "They're not hoe underwear, shall I tell them about your stash of thongs?" Hazel teased back, "Yeah, the ones you gave me!"

After dinner and everyone went to bed for the most part, Nicole started to make the popcorn for the movies they were going to watch. "I've missed you, Nic," Hazel said as she stood in the doorway in just a large t-shirt, causing a lump in Nicole's throat, "What do you mean, you idiot, we spend every day together," She joked, pushing the lump back, "You know what I mean, stupid." Nicole smiled, pouring the popcorn bag into a large bowl, "Yeah, I guess I've missed you too," She winked, following Hazel back into the family room where she had set up blankets for them to sleep on and moved the coffee table to make more room. "Not too shabby," Nicole teased, sitting in the middle of the blankets, setting the popcorn between them. She still had no idea how she was going to tell Hazel about her feelings, but she had to do it quick before her dinner came up. She had to do it just like a band aid, it was her last chance before she chickened out. "Can I just say something before we start the movie?" Nicole said softly, turning to face Hazel, "Sure, go for it," Hazel smiled and Nicole took a deep breath. This was it. No turning back now. "You've been my best friend for what seems like a lifetime but it's really only been a year, and in that year, you've taught me so many things about myself I didn't even know existed or were true. I was just the foster kid with no friends and a really bad dye job," They both giggled, "But then you just so happened to walk up and introduced yourself and from that very moment I knew we would be best friends for a lifetime. But a few months ago, I started to feel things a best friend shouldn't, and I've pushed them back for so long. Actually, it's the reason I've been in outer space during class and sometimes when we hang out I go into that place. Haze, what I'm trying to say it, I'm- I think I love you. Not as my best friend, but as so much more. And If you don't feel the same way it's totally fine and if you never want to speak to me again I understand that too. But I can't- I can't hide it anymore because you're all I think about and it's becoming a problem because I can't think straight. I'm always thinking about you." She finally was able to breath and look Hazel dead in the eyes, "Please say something."


	9. Chapter 9 - Rumor Mill

Hazel was silent for a moment, letting her brain wrap around the words Nicole just said to her. Everything happened so fast, before she knew it she had Nicole's face in her hands and their lips were sealed together in the most intense kiss. Feelings and emotions flooded both their minds as they broke apart from the kiss, Nicole with tears already running down her cheeks, "Stop that," Hazel said softly, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears from her cheeks, "I love you too, okay?" She smiled, and suddenly Nicole's heart was doing flips inside her chest. "What?" She asked, a confused look on her face, "I said i love you too, you dork. Look, i know for the last year i've been a hardass on you and made you do things i knew would get you in trouble, but it was only because i was hiding my feelings too. I tend to do that when i meet someone i really like, i put on this big, 'No one can fuck with me' attitude so they'll think i'm cool and stuff." She admitted, not realizing her hand was holding Nicole's. This was all so crazy, Hazel loved her back, like, for real loved her back."I don't know what to say now, i just thought you would walk out and never talk to me again," Nicole giggled a little, turning her head to face away from Hazel, "Hey, don't shut down on me, pretty girl. It's okay, we're going to figure this out. I promise everything's going to be okay." Nicole finally looked up at Hazel and pressed their lips together agian, reliving the moment so so despreatley craved for over and over again. "Okay," She smiled, taking a deep breath, "Okay, i trust you. It's going to be okay."

That morning came quicker then they both expected. After a long night of talking and figuring things out, Hazel and Nicole finally fell asleep, wrapped up in each other's arms. "Shit," Hazel groaned, rolling over to check the time on her phone, "Nic, Nic we totally slept in," She nudged Nicole and watched her roll over and open her eyes, "What time is it?" She mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, "Almost ten, if we get dressed real fast we'll make it just in time for thrid period." Nicole huffed loudly as she sat up, "My mom's or siblings should of woken us up, i don't know why they didn't," She picked up her phone and saw she had a few missed text's from Mariana, "Well, my sister said she stalled for us for the time being with my mama, but we better move before we're really in trouble." Hazel just nodded and together they got dressed and made it to school just before third period, thankfully they managed to avoid Lena coming into school, but at lunch Nicole was pulled into her office. "I know Mama," Nicole said softly, picking at her finger nails, "I said i was sorry a million times, i didn't know Mariana was coming to cover for us, and i guess we slept though my alarm," Lena just looked at her daughter, picking painfully away at her finger nails, "Nicole, Stop picking at your nails or we're going to put bandaids on them again," She told her, holding her daughters hands in her own, "You're not in trouble, your sister, maybe. But that doesn't mean you're off the hook for skipping school, you and Hazel have two weeks detention after school." Nicole just nodded, knowing that it was a fair punishment, and at least she wasn't grounded from seeing Hazel, but eventually she would have to tell her mom's about last night.

"What the," Mariana didnt' even get to finish her sentence before Lexi pulled her into the bathroom, "Are you insane? You know this top was expensive," She rolled her eyes, fixing the top Lexi wrinkled, "Oh whatever. I have juicy gossip and you're the queen for gossip." Mariana smiled, it was true, "What do you have for me today?" She smiled, looking around to make sure no one was ease dropping, "Rumor has it two Anchor Beach girls are dating and have been sneaking around for months, no word on who they are yet, but eveyone's been seeing them downtown together." Lexi rambled off and Mariana felt her heart fall to her stomach, "If they were hanging out downtown, how do you know they were from Anchor Beach," Mariana shot back as she rolled her eyes, "Because they were wearing Anchor Beach jackets, not smart if you ask me." Lexi turned around to look in the mirror and fix her hair, "Anyways, if you hear anything else, let me know. It's the big thing around school, finding out who the two lesbian lovers are. See you in English!" She called out before skipping away down the school halls. Once the coast was clear of Lexi, and everyone else, Mariana quickly took her phone out and texted Nicole to have her meet her in their special spot, and that it was a code blue.

"You better be dying if this is a code blue," Nicole huffed as she secretly slid into the space closet of Lena's office, mostly known as their secret spot. "If i was dying do you think i'd still be in school," Mariana snarked back, "Okay geeze, so why did you text me code blue?" Nicole asked as she sat against the wall, watching Mariana take a deep breath, "Lexi pulled me into the bathroom and told me she had some juicy gossip, no naturally i was all for it. Until she told me what it was about. Apparently some kids from school was two Anchor Beach girls downtown on a 'date', i guess you could say.." Nicole's heart sank to her feet and she felt all the blood rush to her head, "This can't be happening, not to me, not now." Nicole studdered, "You have to say it's some other girls, Mari, please. No one can find out it's me and Hazel. My life would be ruined and Mama can't protect me forever at Anchor Beach, mom's don't even know about us yet. It'll be even worse if she finds out from some nosey low lifes." Her whole body was shaking at this point and all Mariana could do was send a quick text to Lean letting her know Nicole was having a panic attack, "Don't worry, you know i got your back, that's what sisters are for. And you already know people believe everything i saw because hello, gossip central right here," She giggled, hoping to get any reaction out of Nicole. A few minutes later, Lena arrived at her office and came to the rescue of her more then terrified daughter, after Mariana filled her in, Lena sent her back to class and for the rest of the afternoon Nicole stayed in Lena's office, getting all her homework sent to Lena's mailbox so she could take it home and when she got to school the next day, she wouldn't be behind.

Nicole layed in the middle of Stef and Lena's bed, mindlessly scrolling through her phone and texing Hazel. Stef and Lena had talked about the situation that happened at school and while Nicole couldn't transfer schools, Lena would always make sure her kids were safe. "I don't know what i can do other then follow her to and from classes, and even that would make things much worse," Lena sighed as she leaned against the sink, "And you're okay with Mariana spreading this rumor about two innocent girls?" Stef questioned with a raised eyebrow, "No, not at all and i plan on having a talk with her tomorrow, but right now i'm more worried about Nicole's mental state. It's bad enought she's still trying to find herself in the world, she dosen't deserve this. Not now." Lena let a single tear roll down her cheeks and Stef was quick to wipe it away, "She'll be okay, and everything will be okay with the right parenting and making her feel safe at school. But i also don't want Mariana ruining some other girl's lives because of this. I understand her trying to protect Nicole, and i love her for that, but some things Nicole has to go though on her own." Stef had a point, Mariana couldn't do that to another set of girl's, it's bad enough her daughter was the school's rumor mill. "Okay, tomorrow i'll talk to Mariana, and figure something out with school, but for now i want to go to bed and cuddle my poor baby girl." Stef smiled at that, "That, my love, sound's like a perfect idea," With a soft kiss to the lips they both went into the bedroom and slid into bed, one on each side of Nicole and put her to bed. By the end of the night, they had both girls in their bed, all four of them snuggled up together.


	10. Chapter 10 - Pills and Sex

"This is so dumb," Nicole grumbled as Hazel pulled her down the hallway, "You're ideas have gotten so crazy, my love, that i just might lose my mind," She puffed as she was finally pulled into their destination, "Are you telling me, you don't like making out with me in this janitors closet anymore?" Hazel smirked and pressed their lips together softly, causing Nicole to smile and wrap her arms around her girlfriends neck. "Haze," Nicole finally smiled, breaking their sweet moment, "What?" She pouted, giving her girlfriend a sad look, "It's not bad, it's just uh- i'm a little," She blushed, glancing down shyly. "It's okay, if you're not ready, we can wait. It's alright, okay? Don't feel ashamed or anything, my love, it's natural and it's okay. But if you're not ready, we can wait." Nicole just melted into Hazel's arms, glad she finally found some comfort in someone other then her moms. Just before she went to kiss her again, the door opened and they both froze, "Well, shouldn't you two be in class?" Lena cleared her throat, "We were just going, Mama, swear." Nicole stumbled over her own words as she dragged Hazel out behind her. "The most awkward thing to ever happen to me in my entire life!"

"Hey, hey, Mariana!" Jesus called after his sister, running after her, "Oh god, Jesus, whatever you need, Mama can help you with," She huffed, stopping to look at her brother, "It's nothing Mama can help me with, you twit. I need your help with something, something mom's can't know about." Mariana just raised her eyebrows, looking around the hall to see if anyone was watching them, "Oh for the love of," She huffed, pulling Jesus into a corner, "Jesus if you like, killed someone, then i can't help you there, Mom is a cop and it would be pretty hard to hide a murder from her." Jesus just laughed, "No, stupid, i didn't kill anyone, i would like to, but i didn't." Mariana rolled her eyes and slapped Jesus on the shoulder, "Spit it out, doofus," Mariana groaned, "Okay alright! God, i sold some of my pills for some extra cash and now like, everyone knows about it and i can't keep selling them because i need them, you know? And you're the queen of gossip so i thought maybe you could do me a small favor." Mariana couldn't believe it, she had to spread yet another rumor so save one of her siblings asses. "Fine! But Jesus i swear to god if moms find out we are both dead, they're already mad enough i saved Nicole's ass. Don't sell them again, asshole." She kissed his cheek and walked off.

It was such a busy day, between finding her kids in janitors closets and hearing the chatter in the hallways about Mariana, Lena coulnd't take it much longer. "Stef," She huffed into the phone, "I don't know what to do anymore, today has been such a horrible day. I found Hazel and Nicole inches from having sex in a janitors closet today, the hallways are buzzing about Mariana. I just, i can't handle it today. I love my job, but it's exhausting me today." She lifted her feet onto her desk, closing her eyes, "Wait, you found them what?" Stef groaned, "My love, i know how hard it can be raising our kids, believe me, they're crazy. Today is just another day on the job, right? You're giving our kids the best education, and everyone's elses kids. You're doing amazing things there, my love, and i couldn't be any prouder of you. And how about this, when you get home and all our hellish devils are asleep, we can have some Mama on Mama time." Lena smiled at her wife's words, feeling a little better after their talk, "Thank you, honey, i guess i am doing pretty awesome things here, huh?" She smiled, looking at the pictures of her family sitting on her desk, "Pretty great things." Stef agreed, sensing the relief of her wife from the other end of the phone, "Get back to work, super Mama. I love you."

"I said please!" Nicole whined, standing infront of her moms, "I've been staying out of trouble for weeks! It's not like i'm asking for her to move in!" They were in a never ending battle, Nicole wanted Hazel to spend the night for a few days, her mom's weren't having any of it. "Nicole, we said no, that's final." Stef finally had to put her foot down, Nicole had been at their throats for the last two hours. "Oh my god! This is SO dumb! It's not like we're doing anything! Jesus Christ!" She finally stomped off, slamming her bedroom door with anger. "Oh no, no no. Not today, I'm not having this attitude today," Stef said, marching into the girls room, to already find Mariana out of the room, "Nicole Lynn Adams-Foster, you will _not_ slam your door like that ever again and you will _not_ speak to your Mama or I like that. It's completley fair that Hazel does not spend a few nights durning the school week." Nicole just felt the anger bubble in her chest, "It's dumb! It's just a few nights and its- its harmless! You're making this a big, huge deal and it doens't fucking have to be! She's my girlfriend and we should be able to spend a few nights together a week!" Stef just raised her eyebrows, letting Nicole take her anger out on her. "Just relax, my love," Stef said softly, trying to calm her down, "I can't relax! She want's to have sex, i know she does! I'm just not ready! It's scary, i've never done it before, with like, anyone! I don't even know how to kiss her without getting turned on!" At this point, tears were running down Nicole's cheeks and her chest was beating at a rapid pace, "My love, my sweet, sweet love," Stef cooed, pulling Nicole into her arms. "Sex is natural, baby, and getting turned on is natural. But if you're not ready, don't pressure yourself into it. I'm sure Hazel isn't going to pressue you, so don't pressure yourself. Your first time is going to be scary, honey, very scary, it might hurt and it'll be uncomfortable, but if it's with the right person, you'll know and it'll be magical and speical." Nicole nodded into her chest, "I'm just scared, that's all." She sniffled.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Big Day

Stef held Nicole until she was fast asleep in her arms and tucked her in, with one last kiss on her forehead she turned out the lights and left her girls to rest. She sighed heavily as she returned to her bedroom, falling onto their bed, "Sex. It's going to test our parenting levels to new extremes," She mumbled, rubbing her eyes, "I mean, i get it, it's her first real time and i know she loves Hazel, but she's not ready. They've only been together for a short time, but friends for a while. I don't want either of them to regret this." Stef rambled on, Lena lovingly watching over her and hearing every word she was saying, "I understand, love, I agree they're not ready, all of our kids are not ready for sex, but regardless of what we say, they're all going to end up having it as some point, as hard as that sounds." Lena knew all about it, she was the vice principle after all, "They're too young, and i'm too young to be a grandma! Okay, i'm having a bit of a meltdown, i think it's time for bed." All Lena could do was giggle and give Stef a soft kiss, "I think you're right about going to bed," She smiled, and together they cuddled up and slid into a comfortable rest, both knowing all of their kids would be alright afterall.

Nicole wasn't having it that morning, she woke up cranky, moody and overall, upset with the world, she didn't even respond to Hazel's texts. "Do you not have anymore bagels?" She groaned, searching the fridge for breakfast, "I might of ate the last one," Mariana said quietly, knowing full well her sister was in a bad mood, "It's - It's alright, i'll just eat some toast," Nicole felt drained, and hungry. "No milk?" She had to keep herself from groaning, "Neato, just have some juice," Nicole poured herself a large glass of juice, anything to wake her up and keep her from killing her siblings and people at school. As she was finishing her toast, Hazel came bursting through the front door, "Nicole Adams-Foster!" She yelled, running up to her girlfriend and kissing her cheeks, "Jesus, you scared the hell out of me! Don't you know how to answer your damn phone?" Hazel was in full panic mode and it took everything she had for Nicole not to burst out laughing, "I'm sorry, love, it's upstairs and i was in a rush this morning," She pulled her down to kiss her forehead, letting her know that she was just fine, "I'm almost ready, okay? Wanna come upstairs with me so i can finish getting ready?" Hazel nodded at that, giving her a quick wink, Nicole giggled, "You're too much for me," She smiled and took Hazel by the hand, pulling her upstairs and into the bathroom, "You're very bad, you know that? My siblings are home and you wanna make out in the bathroom?" Hazel just nodded, pressing their lips together and resting her hands on Nicole's hips. With that kiss, Nicole felt all her pressures and worries melt away, she was falling hard for Hazel, and nothing was going to stop her, "I think - I think i'm ready," She said, biting her lip.

"Jesus!" Someone yelled down the hallway, causing him to turn around, seeing who it was, "Kelsey, hey," She said nervously, "What's up?" He asked, sounding more casual, "Nothing, do you have anymore, uh, well you know," Jesus had to swallow the lump in his throat, should he say no, or say yes and get the money he needed? He wrestled with the thought for a few seconds, finally sighing and reaching into his pocket, "Here, don't tell anyone, and i'm serious, not even Mariana." He looked around before handing her the little baggy and taking the money out of her hand, "There, now go to class or whatever it is you girls do," He started to walk away, not wanting people to get their noses in his business. Jesus needed the money to pay back a classmate that took a test for him a few weeks back so he could pass the class, but without a job, it made it a little hard so he started to think of ways to make quick money. He heard from some other students that Kelsey bought pills outside of school from people, so he thought he would give it a shot, selling her his pills, meaning he would be out of pills for his ADHD for a while. "Sup, dude?" Noah, one of his skateboarding buddies said as he walked up next to him, "Not much, what's up?" Jesus asked as they walked into class, "You hear about that competition next weekend? All of the local pro boarders are supposed to be there looking for the best to join their crews," Noah was explaining, "Uh, no, i didn't, but it sounds rad. How much is it? I'll talk to my moms and see if i can do it," Jesus asked, tapping his pencil on his desk, shaking his leg, "It's only like fifty bucks or something, but it'll be so worth it if one of these guys picks us to join their crew! Imagine how awesome it would be to join one of their crews!" Noah was thrilled, and it was hyping Jesus up, "Yeah! I'll totally ask my moms and i'll probably end up going!"

Mariana was sitting in class, having a bad day of her own, texting Lexi, who happened to be in the other class that they didn't share together. "Mariana," The teacher called out, snagging her attention, "Would you like to tell us the answer?" She hummed, tapping her foot against the ground, causing Mariana to roll her eyes, "Uh, fifty?" She knew she was wrong, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Mrs Harrison just sighed, "Mariana, hand me your phone and go down to the principles office, this is the third time this week you've had your phone out in class and haven't been paying attention," Mariana could feel the anger bubbling deep inside, but had to keep her cool, "Fine," She snorted, handing over her phone, "You'll be speaking to my mother about this at the end of the day," She tossed her hair over her shoulder, grabbed her backpack and marched her way down to Lena's office. "That bitch!" She whined, flopping down onto the chair in Lena's office, "Language!" Lena quickly corrected, "Sorry," She rolled her eyes, throwing her backpack down on the floor, "I'm a straight A student, perfect attendence and I'm on two different teams, with my mom as the vice principle! And teachers _still_ think they can just send me down here!" Lena had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, Mariana was a perfect student, "I understand this, love, but it doesn't mean you're immune from being sent down here, for, let me guess, being on your phone during class and not paying attention?" Lean hummed, giving her daughter a soft smile, "Maybe, but i still have straight A's and pass every class with flying colors, so i don't see why that matters," She crossed her arms over her chest, glancing at the clock, "Well, i'm stuck here for another fourty five minutes, wanna play a board game?" She smiled, giving her best baby face, "Just one, and then you're back to your next class," Lena gave in, making her daughter happy.

Nicole and Hazel had cut class to go back to Nicole's, both having one thing on their mind. "No one will be home until five," She said between kisses, both trying to make their way upstairs into her bedroom, "Perfect, that's just enough time," Hazel smiled, kicking Nicole's bedroom door open and pealing off her shirt. Nicole followed suit and slowly took her shirt off, her cheeks turning red, "It's okay, you're beautiful, and i love you," Hazel assured her and slowly lowered her onto the bed, pressing their lips together softly. Slowly, clothes started to be taken off and the air in the room got hot from panting and kissing, Nicole started to feel insecure, but every time Hazel would kiss her, or kiss her stomach, everything seemed to melt away and she was sure now more then ever that she wanted to give this part of herself to Hazel. "Are you ready?" Hazel whispered softly, running her fingers throught Nicole's hair, "I'm ready now more then ever," She smiled, "I love you," Hazel kissed her forehead and kissed down her stomach. After that, everything happened so fast for Nicole. It hurt, it felt great, it was enjoyable, and she was in love. Hazel made her feel comfotable and always asked before she did anything, assuing Nicole that she would take good care of her, an hour later they laid their together, tangled up in her sheets, clothes scattered on the floor and their hair a mess, "That was... Everything i could of imagined and more," Nicole smiled, snuggling deeper into Hazel, "Yeah? I'm glad," She smiled, kissing her forehead. However, their moment was short lived by Stef suddenly coming home and finding the two girls in bed, "Mom, h-hi," Nicole sputtered, covering them both up, "What are you doing home?"


	12. Chapter 12 - Battle Of Twins

Everything in Nicole's body froze and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach, her mom just walked in on the aftermath of them having sex for the very first time, such a special moment in their relationship. Stef just took a deep breath and walked out of the room, closing the bedroom door behind her, leaving the two girls alone to collect their thoughts. "I can't believe this is happening," Nicole whined, hiding her head in the covers, "Well, it wouldn't be the first time one of your mom caught us in the act," Hazel snickered, causing Nicole to pinch her arm, "Alright! Alright, you didn't have to pinch me you know, that stuff hurts," She frowned, rubbing the red spot on her arm. Nicole wanted to cry, but Hazel's stupid comment forced her into a soft giggle, "I hate you sometimes, you and your stupid comments," She took a deep breath, collecting the words in her head, "I'm gonna get dressed and talk to my mom, hopefully she doesnt' kill me, or lock me in a closet until l'm like thirty," She smiled and kissed Hazel, "Get dressed, okay? I'll take you out for lunch," She finished getting dressed and prepared her best sappy speach before entering the lions den that was her parents room, fully ready for a lecture.

"I can't belive you would skip school, come home and have sex! What were you thinking, Nicole?" Stef was fifteen minutes deep into her lecture, and Nicole was forcing back the tears, "I-I was ready! You told me not to have sex until i was ready!" It took everything in her power not to let the tears spill from her eyes, she needed to be strong, everyone always thought she was weak, "I didn't think you would be ready so soon! I mean you guys just started dating!" Stef needed to calm down and she knew it, sex was a sensitive subject to deal with, with all her kids, she wanted to make them feel safe and that sex was okay. "Well, we were, and you always said not to have it until i felt like i was ready. Hazel and I, we have a real connection and i love her, who cares what anyone else thinks, right?" Stef was both amazed and surprised, Nicole had grown so much in the last year since they adopted her, she had done a complete turn around and went from so angry to so sweet and so mature. "You've got some good points there, kiddo. But, were you safe?" Nicole swallowed the lump in her throat, "Kinda? I mean, it was our first time so we didn't do anything extreme, it was... it was soft and gentle." Nicole smiled a little, she was so in love with Hazel and the thought that they just had sex was special. There was nothing much more Stef could say at that point, "You're still in trouble for skipping school, Mama and i will talk about it later, but for now. Go ahead, go take your girlfriend out on a date." Stef smiled, seeing Nicole's eyes light up, "You're the best," She hugged her mom tight, really letting everything sink in before skipping happily back into the bedroom.

After their talk the other day at school, Mariana made a half effort to pay more attention in class, but the teacher just got worse and worse every day, and Mariana was trying her best to keep her cool, but the Latina fire in her was bubbling its way out. "Ms. Adams Foster," Mrs. Harrison cleared her throat, glaring in Mariana's direction, "Yes?" She was polite, and might actually know the answer to the question, "You're one of my best student's, so how about you explain to us the sequence of events that happened in this act of the play?" And then she froze, like a deer in the headlights, she was smart, sometimes too smart for her own good, but Mrs. Harrison knew how to push all her buttons in all the wrong ways. Mariana cleared her throat, and started to gather up her things, "Clearly i know the answer to this quesion, and since i already know where this is heading, i'll just take myself to the vice principles office," The entire class had a look of complete shock on their face as Mariana strolled out of the classroom and down to her mom's office. "Listen, after today, i need to be transfered from her class, she's literally out to get me and i don't know why. It's some personal grudge, maybe it's because my IQ is higher then hers," Mariana snickered, Lena very much unimpressed, "You can't just walk yourself out of class, Mariana, that's not how this works. Sooner or later it won't be my office, it'll be Monty's and i can't help you from there." Lena explained, filing some paperwork, "Then maybe she should just be fired," She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, plotting her revenge.

Everyone sat around the dinner table, Hazel and Nicole glued to eachothers side, the twins bickering from across the tabel and Brandon deep into a music book. Stef and Lena just smiled at one another, looking at their four beautiful children in front of them, all happy and healthy. "Yeah, well i can't believe moms kept you after the age of ten," Jesus began to press his sisters buttons, "I'm surprised they've kept you this long," She shot back, giving him the sassy glare, and everyone knew where this was going, a battle of the twins. Stef and Lena debated onf if they should stop it, but instead sat back, just to see where it went and would stop if it got too far. "You know, when moms first adopted us, they told me i was the favorite," Jesus shot with a smirk, causing everyone to perk up a little, "Not true! Mom's don't have favorites, and even if they did, what makes you think _you're_ the favorite? If anyone, it would be me!" Mariana kept her cool, feeling everything in her blood boil, she didn't know what was wrong with her latley, but her temper was shorter, she got angry easier and nothing felt right in her body. At this point, Lena and Stef knew they should step in and quickly stopped the twins before things got ugly, "Nicole, why don't you and Hazel take care of dinner, yeah?" Stef redirected the attention away from Mariana and Jesus, "Sure," Nicole smiled, going back to her conversation with Hazel, waiting until everyone was done with their plates to start doing the dishes, "As for you two, let's avoid each other for the rest of the night," She nodded to the twins, who nodded back and went their seprate ways.

It was late, later then she thought when Mariana woke up from a horrible night mare. "Awesome," She whispered as she looked down, realizing she was sweating in her sleep, "I can't believe this," She huffed and quietly made her way to the bathroom, getting a wet rag to place on her forehead. She had been having these nightmares more and more as the weeks went by, she would have them a lot when she was younger, before they got adopted, and the fact that she was having them now was a little scary. After Mariana cooled her body down, she washed her face, hoping to give her body a little break and slowly made her way back into bed. It was hours later when she fell asleep, when the sun came up and the alarm was yelling at her, it was going to be a long day. Slowly, ever so slowly, she got out of bed and rubbed her eyes, peaking over at Nicole still asleep, "Nicole! Come on, we have to get ready for school!" She picked up a extra pillow and threw it at her sister, "Rude!" Nicole snapped as she opened her eyes, "You didn't have to throw a pillow at me, sometimes those things really do hurt," She mumbled, rolling out of bed herself. Mariana rolled her eyes and continued on with her morning, praying today would go by smoothly and Mrs. Harrison wasn't so rude to her, forcing her to walk herself out of class and into Lena's office, eventually she would tell her moms about the nightmares, but for now she would try and power though them.


	13. Chapter 13 - Almost The End

School for the Adams-Foster girls was a complete and total disaster. Mariana had the worst headache and kept a low profile all day, even drawing concern from Lena. Nicole, on the other hand, had a huge fight with Hazel and the two avoided each other the entire day, forcing Nicole to eat lunch with Lena in her office. Needless to say, the girls needed some serious one-on-one time with their Mama if Lena was ever going to get down to the bottom of things. She already had a conversation with Stef, letting her know everything she observed today, and assured her that Jesus and Bradon were fine, and both had plans afterschool with their friends, the only thing she had to worry about was making dinner. As the day came to a close, Lena had the perfect plan, take the girls out shopping, something they could both agree on without killing eachother. Her biggest fear was at night when they went to bed, what her girls would do to themsefls, if anything, it was doubtable, but a possibilty all too well. Mariana came into her office first, head in her hands as she rubbed her temple, "I've taken about six asprin today and nothing can shake this headache," She whined, Nicole coming in shortly behind her, "God, she's such a bitch! I fell in love with the world's biggest bitch!" And from there, Lena knew she was going to have an even longer day then she had expected.

Lena's plan for the girls took a tumble right off the bat, Mariana's headache was so bad she got sick in the car on the way to the mall, and Nicole was texting Hazel so much while they were fighting, Nicole ended up in tears. Lena didn't know what do to, everything in her head was swimming around trying to come up with any kind of soultion to help her girls, but the only thing she could think of was giving them their space, but even that worried the hell out of her. The only real solution was to keep close eyes on them, but give them space and see what happens from there, they had been through this enough time in the last year, Nicole with finding herself and Mariana having a hard time in school, Lena felt like her girls never got a break. "Don't fall in love, it was the worst mistake of my life," Nicole grumbled to her sister as the got to their bedroom, "Trust me, i won't, not this young. What happened between you two anyways?" Mariana asked, popping another asprin into her mouth, trying to drug out this headache. "She's so stupid, putting fun and partying before our relationship and school! Like i'm trying to have a freaking education and go to college, while juggling our relationship and still trying to find a job while she's out there partying and pushing me aside! So selfish," Nicole rambled off as she stripped into something comfortable. "What's with you getting headaches all of a sudden?" Nicole mumbled as she angrily shot a text to Hazel, "Just, stressed is all, nothing major," She lied, she had to, Nicole would squeel in a instant if she knew how bad things were.

"You don't get it!" Nicole yelled, furious at her girlfriend, if you could even call them that anymore, "You're too worried about partying and getting wasted, Hazel! We have college coming up faster then we know it, and if we both even dream of going to the same college, _you_ have to get your life together! This isn't a game to me, our relationship isn't a fucking game to me!" Tears were running down her face and she felt hot, super hot, like the world was crashing down on her. Hazel saw how upset Nicole was getting a bit softly at her lip, "Look, baby, i just, i don't think right now is the best time for us to be... you know, together. You've got a beautiful, smart head on your soulders, and me, look at me, Nic, I'm useless, and let's be honest, you can find someone with the same adorable and sexy drive you have." With those words tears spilled from her eyes and her chest seemed to collapse, nothing felt right, like she was living in some messed up world where happiness didn't belong to her. "Nic..." Hazel said softly, trying to move closer to her girlfriend, "Go. Haze, just go." Nicole managed to choke out, wiping the tears from her visibly stained eyes, "I'll find my own way home, but if you truly loved me, you'd stick with me no matter what. So, i guess call or text me when you're ready to spend forever with me." Nicole didn't even look back at Hazel, she couldn't, her chest was aching and she wanted to forget about everything, the last six months of her life with Hazel all just felt like a big joke, all those late nights and secret sneakouts, all of it was just a joke. Nicole didn't know how she got there, but she found herself at a bar that she knew didn't card, and was six shots deep before trying to stumble home. Next thing she saw when she woke up, as two very angry moms and a night she couldn't remember a lick of after walking away from Hazel.

"I don't even remember getting home, i really don't," Nicole mumbled, trying to explain her night to Stef and Lean, "All i know is that after Hazel ripped my heart out and ate it, i started walking and after that is just a big blob of nothing." Stef sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers, "Let me just tell you this, i had someone from work call in about a very drunk teenager stumbling around downtown." Nicole groaned, the whole town would find out about this, "Look, i'm sorry, okay? I-I didn't mean for anything to happen, if anything happened, i just- It wasn't my fault." She was pleading, sort of, hopefully her moms would take pitty on her after her first major heartbreak, "This time, sorry just can't and won't fix things, Nicole. Grounded, for a very long time. School and home, that's it." Stef said firmly, "Not like i have anything better to do," Nicole mumbled, resting her head in her hands, "Can i be excused?" She finally mumbled, needing to take a much needed nap, "Go ahead," Lena jumped before Stef could, allowing Nicole to drag herself upstairs. "I agree with your grounding, love, but she had her heartbroken. And of course i don't tolerate her drinking and blacking out, but she also needs love and comfort, don't you remember your first heartbreak?" Lena rashend, "Of course i do, who could forget their first heartbreak?" Stef nodded, "Exactly, she's in a lot of pain and needs us to comfort her," Lena kissed Stef's forehead as she stood up, "Let's give her a few hours and see how sober she is, and then we will all sit down and talk about things, calmly and reasonably, without yelling and fighting," Lena explained as Stef nodded, "I can't make any promises about Nicole, but i'll keep calm, my love."

Weeks passed and Nicole didn't hear anything from Hazel, it broke her heart even more everyday seeing her in school, laughing and enjoying their time apart. For Nicole, it ripped at her insides everyday, and for weeks she would cringe hearing Hazel's laugh. Eventually, she brought herself to tear down every picture of them together in her locker and at home, letting a few pictures linger in her phone to stare at every now and again. To avoid thinking about Hazel any longer, Nicole got a job to further her big dreams of living on her own, with or without Hazel, and starting saving up for a place of her own with Mariana, they would be roomates for the first few years. Everything was going smoothly, until the fatal day her phone lit up with Hazel's name and a single word in text, "Forever" it read, and her heart felt that same crushing pain it felt that night on the beach, her head started to spin and her bedroom started to close in on her again, but she couldn't shake the feelings that came back to her. The ones of love and hope, the same feelings she had the first day they kissed, or the first day they made love, everything came rushing back and with the shakiest of hands, she picked up and wrote back a single word, "Always," and hit send, closing her eyes and taking deep breath. Before she knew it, they were on the phone for hours, talking and figuring things out, working things out for their relationship and future. After spending all day on the phone, they decided on staying friends for now, they had both agreed on that, but they love would always be there and things would go on as normal, they would hang out after school and do the same dumb things they always did when Nicole had a day off work. They were both at ease with the situation and Nicole felt good things coming.


End file.
